Winter Makes Love Warmer
by silentmusic16
Summary: All it took to make them warm was spiked tea and one another. A complete rewrite/re-imagining of an old story of mine, "Love is Intoxicating". Contains a small lemon.


**I have been disappointed in "Love is Intoxicating" for some time now, but to fix it I felt like I had to scrap the whole thing and start again - and that's what I did! I can definitely say I'm happier with how this turned out, and I wanted to keep "Love is Intoxicating" up as a point of reference/comparison. Whether you read and compare the two or not, I hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

Pale gray light filtered softly through closed blinds, and the early morning's sun cast great shadows on the wall - a bed there, a lamp here, a table down there. One shadow, however, grew taller without the movement of the sun;. a singular arm and hand reaching up in a well-needed stretch. The tired arm belonged to one Ritsu Tainaka, half-asleep and fully hung-over after a long night - the details of which she couldn't recall with such a screaming siren of a headache and tempest in her stomach. As she half stumbled, half rolled out of bed for an aspirin she guided herself only by feeling around the carpeted floor with her cold feet and the walls with her hands; had she tried opening her eyes the dull light of a cloudy day's would've fried her brain.

 _"What happened last night?"_ she wondered.

She entered the bathroom with her eyes still closed; the cold touch of tile told her as much. As though her eyes were sealed shut she struggled to lift even one lid so that she could read the names of the medicine bottles behind her cabinet mirror. She sorted through them, knocking a few over into the sink accidentally, but feeling too out of it to reach down and pick the bottles up.

"Aspirin, aspirin..." she mumbled. Her mouth was dry and sticky, and Ritsu brushed her teeth, despite the throbs it caused her head, after finding the bottle she was looking for. Without even grabbing a glass from the kitchen, the brunette downed two pills and drank water straight from the bathroom faucet. A quick wipe of her mouth with the back of her hand later and she wandered right back into her bedroom. The jackhammer in her head caused her to close her eyes again as she gingerly lowered herself into bed; any sudden movement might have set off the intense feeling of vomiting in her gut.

Ritsu lay half-awake in bed when suddenly she realized that _shit_ , she was very cold. She looked down to grab the blankets and opened her eyes slightly wider in surprise: she was naked, though _why_ this might be seemed to be missing from her memory. Throughout the cloud of her headache she searched for the answer but only came out slightly more awake and slightly more confused.

It was when she rolled over in bed that she was truly awoken from her early morning stupor.

Long black hair elegantly fanned across the pillow. Soft, pure skin glowed healthy and youthful. The beauty of her body breathing evenly. Beside Ritsu, right there in her bed, was Ritsu's very best friend Mio Akiyama. The girl's unblemished back was turned toward the drummer and she slept deeply.

The drummer covered her mouth to stifle a yelp. What was Mio doing in her bed?! Why were they both naked?! What _happened_ the night before? And why was this, despite the confusion, something she'd wanted for so long?

Ritsu didn't know what to do first: should she wake Mio up? No - the bassist would die from embarrassment immediately! Should she get dressed, just in case? For the time being, Ritsu stared at Mio while racking her brain for _any_ hint from the night before. _What happened?_ She tapped her temple, and cringed when she remembered her headache. _What happened?_

At first all she could recall were indistinct flashes of light and sound:

" _What did you put in that tea, Mugi? It's so strong!". "Don't worry Ricchan! It's because we're celebrating our holiday concert!"_

 _"I think I'm going to be si -". "T-thanks for the hand in there Azusa."_

 _"Ritsu, that train was going so fast! The lights were so pretty~." "You got that right, Yui."_

 _"No, Mio and I are sure - you can just take the other girls home. You're a lifesaver, Ui."_

The pieces flowed together, blending like colors on a child's palate, and all that Ritsu could make out was that alcohol was involved _somehow_ , but that fact was obvious from the terrible hangover she was currently suffering. Otherwise, she could remember very little.

She sat up in bed slowly and looked around the room. There were her clothes, strewn along the floor like tornado refuse. Mio's clothing littered the floor as well, and Ritsu was suddenly very aware that her friend was naked too. That smooth back told her one thing, but the telltale striped panties besides her own on the carpet hammered that fact home well.

Seeing the discarded panties on the floor managed to awaken more memories from the night before, and suddenly Ritsu's current situation began to clear up.

 _Though her vision was somehow both overly vivid and comfortably fuzzy, Ritsu managed to insert her house key into the lock and open the door. It felt way too cold outside to stay even a few moments longer out there after their short trek from the train station she and Mio walked from. She stumbled in, followed closely by Mio - blushing, giggling, drunk Mio - who closed the door behind them. RItsu's house was nice and warm after the winter wonderland outside._

 _"Miiiio, look what I found hidden," Ritsu air-quoted the word "hidden" before standing on her tiptoes and feeling around for an open bottle she'd spied, "at the top of the fridge! My dad's secret stash~."_

 _"You-hic-you still want to drink?"_

 _"It's a holiday celebration!" Ritsu smiled wide. "So let's celebrate!". She took a swig of amber liquid and reveled in the fire it created in her stomach. She wiped her face with her shirtsleeve._

" _Pass it here." Mio reached out and grabbed the bottle, swaying slightly where she stood. She placed her lips on the very spot where Ritsu had done the same, whether on purpose or on accident, and took a large sip for herself._

 _"W-what happened to your fear of indirect kisses?" Ritsu chucked. Her cheeks flushed red, both from said indirect kiss and from the alcohol running through her system._

 _"S-shut up, Ricchan." But she was smiling wide. Beautifully, Ritsu almost said out loud. Mio Mio Mio...what a beautiful girl. Ritsu had thought so for years - since forever, really. They continued to pass the bottle back and forth, not saying much as they did so. The only thing they shared were growing smiles and the odd burst of laughter here and there. The bottle was in Ritsu's hand when, not long after they started, she swished it around for a moment and saw that it was entirely empty._

 _"Aww, it's emp-mmmmph!" RItsu began, before she was cut off. Intoxicated as she was, it took a moment to realize that Mio's lips were on her own. The bassist leaned forward further and pressed their lips together even harder, before pulling away with a face more red than hot coal._

Ritsu almost choked at the memory. She lightly pressed two fingers to her lips. _I kissed MIo. No -_ Mio _kissed_ me. Ritsu sat up and cradled her head in her hands. There was a lot to take in, and she felt that there was more hidden somewhere within her memories. How had they gotten from kissing in the kitchen to...to lying naked beside one another?

Before she could remember, however, her phone alerted her to a new text message. She turned her head - not too quickly - and searched for the sound. It came from somewhere in the pile of clothing on the floor, and Ritsu quietly lifted herself from the bed to look for it. She searched on her hands and knees until she found it in the pants she wore the night before. The message was from her mother, and suddenly a cold fear ran up her spine. Her parents! Her brother! Were they home? Did they see or hear _anything_ from the night before? _Oh no!_

Holding her phone as if it were a live snake she opened the message, only to find a picture of her family relaxing in her grandparent's home. In the background her grandmother waved sweetly. Ritsu breathed a sigh of relief - that's right, they were visiting her father's family this weekend, and Ritsu couldn't make it because of the show Houkago Tea Time put on the night before. At least they weren't home for...for...

Another memory came rushing back, and this one brought a deep blush to her face.

 _In the bright kitchen the girls continued to embrace each other. The kisses felt like they lasted forever, but every time Mio would pull away to breath or to giggle Ritsu missed her lips. Although her body surged with a kind of electric numbness she could feel Mio's hands exploring her back, or running up her sides, or barely passing over her breasts while they made out; her hands, as if disconnected from her brain, were doing the same to the other girl - although neither acted like this long-awaited exploration was happening at all. Swaying like reeds in the wind the girls nearly fell a few times when one leaned in too far, or the other pulled too close._

 _"Mi~o, I;n tired of standing, Let's go to my room."_

 _"W-what?! Ricchan, that's...that's so -." Mio looked away and her red cheeks grew brighter._

 _"We've had sleepovers before. Come onnnn."_

 _Ritsu grabbed Mio's wrist lightly and pulled the girl along the darkened hallways of her home, stopping every few feet to plant a kiss on the girl's forehead or nose or lips. Mio seemed to squash her shyness and moved in time with the other girl, laughing lightly while sliding here and there on the hardwood floors as they walked to Ritsu's room. Even in the dark the route was muscle memory not only for Ritsu, but for Mio as well - she'd visited so many times since they were children that she knew her friend's house as well as she knew her own._

 _The door to Ritsu's room creaked as she pushed it open and -_

Ritsu was shaken out of her reverie by the sliding sound of moving sheets coming from her bed. She looked up to see that Mio had rolled from her side onto her back, though her breathing was still even and slow, her eyes still closed in sleep. The warm green comforter that had previously covered Mio moved with the girl in her sleep and now cascaded down her body, loose in some areas and tightly wrapped against others with everything above her waist entirely visible. To both her horror and delight Ritsu took instant notice of Mio's bare breasts, each soft and white and _l-look away!_ she commanded herself. Mio's stomach was flat, a testament to the work she put in when it came to fighting off the sweets Mugi served in the band room. For a moment Ritsu hesitated in her place before fumbling around to cover Mio with the comforter - the girl deserved to keep some shred of her dignity in this situation. In a different time, had all of these events not been preceded by a night of drinking that Ritsu could barely remember, Ritsu might've been slightly more playful and woken her bedmate up with a kiss, a prod, or a loving grope. Too much had happened in too short of a time, though. She didn't want to make a misstep here and do something that Mio wouldn't appreciate.

The sight of Mio's body resumed the flow of memories, and Ritsu sat back down on the bed in something of a stupor while they flashed through her mind.

 _The door to Ritsu's room creaked as she pushed it open and pulled Mio inside with her, a bit stronger than she'd thought she had; the girl crashed into her, and Ritsu stumbled back a bit. Her leg bashed against the bed frame, although the alcohol in her system numbed the pain. More pressing to the girl were Mio's lips having found their way to her own in the short moment she'd looked away._

 _"You really like kissing, Mio." she chuckled._

" _D-don't say something like that!" the girl pouted. "I j-just like kissing_ you. _"_

 _"Come 'ere then," Ritsu invited from the corner of the bed she plopped down on. "Ya know Mio, you're really cute."_

 _Mio flushed red, although it seemed as though the red glow on her cheeks simply hadn't left since the first sip of the spiked tea Mugi had served them all that night. Mio did eventually sit down beside Ritsu. She found her hand in the dark, and pressed her calloused bassist fingers into Ritsu's softer hand. The kiss she gave Ritsu then was deeper, slower, than the sweet pecks and laughing embraces in the kitchen, as if the darkness of Ritsu's room and the intimacy it signified finally began to reach the girls through their alcohol-fogged minds._

 _Ritsu's head felt like jello, floaty and full all at once, while her body coursed with live electricity. She barely registered anything besides the wonderfully warm girl she was kissing, and the sighs coming from both as their hands resumed the earlier exploration. Even through Mio's clothing Ritsu could feel the firmness of the girl's breasts and the softness of the skin beneath. Mio's fingers traced lines around her sides, close to her hips, and instinctually Ritsu moved closer. Ritsu's eyes were hardly accumulated to the darkness of the room, but she focused everything she had on Mio. She wanted to see the girl's face clearly. She wanted to see if the love she felt for Mio was felt for herself in return. Mio's wonderful smile told her that it was._

 _Ritsu did not fully think her next step through, though it wasn't one she regretted. In the middle of a kiss she snaked her hand beneath Mio's sweater and lightly groped her breast. Mio gasped. As unexpected as the move was, she did not ask Ritsu to stop. Instead, she kissed the girl more deeply. Ritsu took this as an invitation and groped the other breast as well. Her body was warm beneath Ritsu's touch, and the drummer wanted to experience all of that warmth as closely and deeply as she could. Pandora's box was opened; feelings each girl harbored for years filled their hearts and there was no going back now._

 _"Ricchan..." Mio moaned._

 _"Is this okay, Mio?" she asked. Mio gently placed her forehead on Ritsu's and nodded softly._

 _There wasn't a word that passed between them, but a sense of higher understanding lead both girls to strip one another. Ritsu lifted Mio's shirt above her head, and in one movement brushed the girl's long black hair back down. Mio unbuttoned Ritsu's shirt and pulled it off her body._

 _"Lift yourself up for a sec, Mio." Ritsu asked, before pulling the girl's jeans down her legs slowly._

 _"D-do the same, please." Mio copied Ritsu's actions, and suddenly the fact that they were both in nothing but their final layers finally settled on the girls. Mio covered her eyes, though her blush was still visible. Ritsu, however, smiled. She was happy this moment finally arrived and wouldn't hide it like Mio was._

 _Ritsu leaned over to kiss Mio and once again they made out, though this time the closeness of their bodies, the wanderings of their hands, carried stronger feelings. The girls were still drunk and every sensation felt like it was picked up at a higher frequency._

 _The night began to pass without any semblance of time. There was a point when Mio's bra came off, followed closely by Ritsu's, and not long after both girls were entirely naked. Ritsu could not remember what happened to lead up to that point; her hangover still clouded her mind. Still, she distinctly remembered one thing._

 _"You're really beautiful, Mio." she had said, as truthfully as she could, with a slight sense of awe creeping into her voice._

 _"N-no, you're the beautiful one, Ritsu."_

 _Ritsu grinned, and then nuzzled her head against Mio's. She was positioned over the girl, and moved her hand downwards, trailing over Mio's smooth stomach but not stopping there - not stopping until her fingers found wet warmth and heard the light squeak coming from Mio. She hadn't yet made contact - she waited for the verbal sign._

 _"G-go on, Ricchan. Please."_

 _Ritsu happily obliged. She finally touched the girl beneath her and in one moment a spark passed between the two, the long-awaited circuit completed, and the movement from "friend" to "more than a friend" began. There was only one minor bump on the road; that spark was a physical thing too, and Mio - so unused to such intense feelings, so sensitive at that moment - lifted her head quickly and bashed it against Ritsu's._

 _"Ah!" Ritsu yelped, sitting up. She held her forehead in her hand._

 _"S-sorry! Sorry! Oh Ritsu, I - " Mio sat up as well. Like a nurse in a panic the girl pulled Ritsu's hand away and tried to look for any sign of damage - a bruise, a cut. There was nothing, thankfully._

 _"Hahaha! T-that's so like you, Mio!"_

 _Ritsu's laughter caught on quickly, and soon Mio joined in. There in the dark, in the midst of something so passionate and cautious, the oppressively serious and nervous mood was broken down as the girls gripped each other in genuine mirth, their laughter growing louder and more carefree now that their barriers were broken. Now that their friendship was allowed to grow into something beautiful though it was once held back in insecure fear._

 _Ritsu brought her face to meet Mio's and placed a kiss on the girl's lips, giggling all the while. MIo returned it with one of her own and the two of them once again assaulted each other with deeper and deeper kisses interjected with their jovial laughter. During these kisses Ritsu's hand returned to Mio's womanhood and she slid a single finger into the girl. Mio was prepared this time; she leaned her body into Ritsu's, and gave herself up to the pleasure her friend was giving._

 _"W-wait, Ritsu. Let me help too."_

 _"You don't havta. I like making you feel good."_

 _Mio shook her head and smiled. "I want you to feel the same."_

 _True to her word Mio followed Ritsu's lead and began to pleasure the drummer in the same way. There was certainly something to be said for her technique, and her fingers made strong by years of bass playing - although Ritsu's powerful drumming wrists were equally skilled. The girls traded kisses, traded sighs and loving stares; something passed between them, unspoken but lovely, and it was not long before pleasure in equal measure filled them up almost completely. Each girl leaned into the other, foreheads resting against one another once more. They both breathed heavily, and small moans and squeaks poured out between each breath. Just before they exploded like fireworks Ritsu intertwined her free hand with Mio's and squeezed hard, and together they climaxed. Warmth. Wonderful warmth filled their bodies as though they had a star born between them._

 _Winded, happy, drunk, and in love the band-mates fell silent. Ritsu smiled lovingly at Mio; Mio smiled back and gently pulled Ritsu down to the bed with her. Still grasping one another's hand it was not long before the alcohol and the exhaustion finally lulled them to sleep._

The memories ended there and Ritsu could barely believe them. Still, the evidence spoke for itself: Mio was naked in her bed. Ritsu had a rather large bruise on her leg. The spread of clothes around the room...all of it pointed to a night shared with her best friend and long time crush. Ritsu was at a loss for what would happen when Mio woke up: would she storm out, feeling angry and betrayed? Would she cry? Would she literally die from embarrassment?

Ritsu took another look at herself and shook her head; regardless of how Mio reacted, being naked in this situation was just not going to be helpful. She moved slowly - her headache and nausea were still constant companions - and slid on a pair of pajama shorts and a large t-shirt.

 _I should make things easy for her._ Ritsu thought and headed to the the kitchen. She filled up a glass with cold water and brought it to the bedside table beside Mio. She went to open the bottle of aspirin carefully, but the cap made a loud "pop" as it came off.

 _Damn._

Lazy eyelids opened and stared into the gray light of the room. Mio rose slowly, stretching her arms wide like bird wings and providing the blushing drummer with a good view of her breasts, though the still sleepy girl hadn't noticed. And yet, sparks of recognition began appearing in her slowly widening eyes as she took in the scene.

"R-ritsu...wh-why am I in your room? Why am I naked?" her cheeks glowed like Christmas lights. "And why do I have this terrible headache. D-don't tell me..."

If embarrassment could be a cause of death, Mio would've likely died right then and there as she connected all the pieces to form the big picture. Her flushed face took on the color of someone choking, and Ritsu reached forward to pat the girl on the back.

"Hey, are you alright?"

But Mio had froze in embarrassment. She covered her face, then thought better of her action and covered her breast, but the quick movement, marred by her painful hangover, threw the girl off balance. She tumbled forward, falling into Ritsu on the way down.

 _Glad I had clothes on._ the drummer thought.

"Ohhhh, my head...R-ricchan, what did we do last night?" Mio sat up again and rubbed circles into her temples.

"I, uh, think it's pretty obvious what happened." Ritsu smirked, nursing a blush, as she rubbed the back of her head with a hand. "But here, take this medicine. It should help with your aching head. And your aching va-"

"Stop!" MIo covered her cherry-red face in embarrassment once again.

 _Time to stop joking,_ Ritsu reprimanded herself. Instead she got up and searched her drawers for a large sweater and sweatpants. She tossed them at Mio. "Put those on, alright? You'll catch a cold at this point."

"C-could you leave for a moment so that I could get dressed?" Mio asked after a short pause.

Ritsu cocked an eyebrow in confusion. What _hadn't_ she seen the night before? Still, after a shrug she left the girl and headed to the kitchen. If she remembered correctly, filling your stomach was supposed to be help get rid of hangovers - and if Mio was suffering even half as bad as Ritsu was, they both needed to eat something quickly.

Ritsu set to work making pancakes for Mio and herself. The rote process kept her head clear enough to finally think things through from the night before. She wiped away a stray bang from her eyes. _We had sex last night,_ she thought with a blush. _Now what?_ The pan in front of her sizzled. _I love Mio, right? So this is a good thing. And I think she loves me._ Somewhere behind her she heard the low click of her bedroom door, followed by Mio's footsteps walking towards the empty living room, followed once more by a low creak as Mio sat down. Ritsu returned to the pancakes, and to her thoughts. _Mio's a bit of a coward sometimes, though_ , she chuckled to herself _so I guess it's up to me to make sure she knows that last night_ wasn't _a mistake._ Ritsu turned over these thoughts as she turned over the pancakes in the pan. _I'm not gonna back down now that we've finally connected, s_ he decided.

Carrying two plates of steaming pancakes, Ritsu entered the living room. She found Mio sitting with her arms around her knees and a flush on her face. _I bet she's finally remembering last night_. The bassist hid here eyes behind a row of black bangs.

"Here, take this. " Ritsu offered, and without speaking Mio reached out and grabbed the plate of steaming pancakes. Ritsu sat down beside her, but made sure to leave a bit of distance; she knew best of all that Mio came around to things slowly. They ate in silence, but every few moments Ritsu felt the bassist's eyes on her. When she turned to look at Mio, the girl would look away. It was beginning to get on Ritsu's nerves.

"Everything okay Mio?"

"A-about last night…" she began nervously. "I-if you didn't want….a-are you okay with it, Ricchan?"

Ritsu gave a sheepish grin. "I regretted part of last night," she began. "B-,"

"T-then I'm sorry, Ritsu. Just forget - ,"

"But all I regret is getting drunk. Don't look so sad, alright? I'm really, uh, happy with what happened between us. Can't say I haven't thought of it before." she shrugged, blushing all the while. "More than a few times, even."

"You're not the only one..." Mio whispered, looking away from Ritsu. The air in the room, previously awkward, grew lighter. They were on the same page, at least, even if the words were hard to say.

Ritsu gazed outside through her window. It was snowing heavily, and though it had to have started after they got home last night, there was already quite the covering. Powdery snow blanketed everything Ritsu could see. She gathered her thoughts and turned to Mio.

"I guess I should just let it out, eh? I, uh, love you, Mio. I guess I always kinda have." Almost instantly tears sprung to Mio's eyes. She ducked her head down. "A-ah, Mio, don't do that! I didn't mean to make - "

"I-I'm not crying, Ricchan. I'm just really happy. I never thought you'd finally say it!"

"You still haven't said it back you know." Ritsu crossed her arms and pouted, though the blush on her face betrayed her true feelings.

Mio leaned forward and pressed her head on the drummer's shoulder. Although her hands were slightly shaking she grabbed Ritsu's anyway. "I love you too." she paused. then groaned. "My head is killing me."

"Mine too," although Ritsu smiled through it wasn't anything that could make her feel bad after that confession.

The snowstorm outside quieted slowly as the day passed by. Ritsu and Mio hadn't left the couch at all. Underneath a blanket they cuddled, hands intertwined bodies tangled up to share warmth. There was no real need to talk between them, no longer any of the unspoken tension that once assailed them in past situations.

"So, uh, how long did you like me for?" Ritsu asked at some point during a lull in a tv movie.

"I don't know if there was just one moment it happened," Mio paused to collect her thoughts. "You were always there for me Ritsu. I even...you know...wrote lyrics about you..."

"You did?! I wondered where you got some of those ideas. As far as I knew, you'd never been in love. I kinda thought you were just makin' those feelings up." the drummer chuckled.

"Well I couldn't just say it to you!"

"So you said it to all of our fans?" Ritsu teased.

"I was singing to you the whole time!" Mio tapped the girl on the head with her hand.

The drummer laughed anyway.

Later on in the day, Mio asked a pressing question. "Are we d-dating now?"

Ritsu answered with a question of her own. "If I say yes, does that mean we can kiss some more?"

"Ritsu!" Mio looked away to hide her blushing face. Said drummer wrapped an arm around the bassist's shoulder and pulled her close anyway. That was answer enough.

Although the snow gradually slowed during the day, almost to a stop, neither girl had the energy to actually get up. Each brought up date ideas ("We could go out to lunch." Ritsu offered. "Or we could go ice skating" Mio added), but the general laziness of a snowy day - and the residual headaches brought on by the hangovers - kept the girls under the blanket on Ritsu's couch. Not that either could complain about the warmth and comfort of the other.

Towards the beginning of the evening, when the heavy gray snow clouds had slowly begun heading off towards the horizon and took on pale periwinkle and orange hues, the buzzing of a cellphone woke Ritsu up from the half-nap she had fallen into. A message arrived from Mugi.

Mugi: The girls and I are going to the park in an hour. It'd be a joy if you and Mio could make it!

Ritsu softly shook Mio's sleeping shoulder. "Hey, do you wanna meet up with the girls?" she asked.

Mio reluctantly removed herself from Ritsu's warmth and stretched. "Maybe the cold air will make our heads feel better." she giggled.

The girls bundled up in coats and hats and scarves, dressed warmly in sweatpants and sweatshirts, and headed out first to a cafe which was, thankfully, on the way to the park. A bit of hot coffee would surely do wonders in the cold air. The cafe was decorated in sleek wood paneling and furniture, and the low, warm lighting gave off a comforting glow as it softly reflected off of the wood. John Coltrane's "My One and Only Love" filled the place with a wonderful sound that developed around the soft conversations coming from the other customers seated at various tables. The cafe's large windows gave a view of the winter wonderland outside where nearly all of the snow lay untainted by man and vehicle alike.

With a cup of coffee in each hand the girls sat across from each other on a tall table.

"It's almost hard to believe we're a _thing_." Mio said, smiling down at her coffee cup.

"I know what you mean. It feels a bit weird to think that I could, say, do this."

"D-don't kiss me in public!" Mio whisper-yelled, though the smile and blush on her face betrayed her.

"It was just on the cheek!"

"I have to prepare myself!"

"You didn't last night - "

"Don't remind me!"

"It wasn't good?"

"T-that's not the question here!"

"Well, now I wanna know what you thought, Mio."

Instead of continuing the conversation, the girls broke into soft laughter. This was it - this was what they'd been tip-toeing around for years. They'd always been comfortable around each other, they'd always been close - but being able to joke about even sex was a sign of their true closeness now. The warm glow in the cafe could not even come close to the mimicking the warmth between the girls.

Half an hour later Ritsu looked at her phone. "Time to go. I think the girls'll be there by now."

Warmed by the coffee the girls set out to the park. For the five or so minutes it took to get to their friends, Ritsu and Mio held hands while they walked through the snowy streets. A young couple passed them the opposite way doing the same thing, absorbed in conversation. The girls dropped their hands as the park came into view; they could see Mugi waving them over and presenting the box of homemade cookies like some sort of trophy.

"I'll get 'em first!" Ritsu called as she darted away from Mio.

"Hey!" Mio followed after her, almost slipping in the snow on the way.

They both reached Mugi at the same time, laughing as the blonde lifted the box above their heads. "I made enough for everyone!" she said, grinning.

Yui hopped off of the swings, stumbling a bit, to greet the newcomers. Azusa too stopped sliding on the slide, but more out of embarrassment for possibly looking like a middle school student. On a park bench cleared of snow the girls shared cookies and tea from a thermos.

"Hey, this one's not spiked, is it?" Ritsu asked, sniffing suspiciously at the tea thermos. "I don't think I ever want to drink again."

"No, no, it's just tea this time." Mugi smiled. Ritsu breathed a sigh of relief before taking a sip of the wonderfully warm drink.

"Ricchan, Mio." Yui began between bites of a warm, gooey cookie, "Did you guys have a fun sleepover last night?"

Ritsu spit the tea out of her mouth and Mio went white. The time between the question and their minds reeling for some kind of answer must've only been a few seconds in real life, but it felt equal to the time it took from the birth of the universe until that point in the history of the world. Ritsu and Mio looked at each other quickly, then looked away as deep blushes painted their faces.

"Y-y-yep. Fun. We had a fun sleepover." Ritsu sputtered.

"J-j-j-just sleeping, hahaha." Mio added nervously, squatting in her usual show of nervousness.

Both Mugi and Azusa had grasped the accidental implication of the question (to the former's delight and the latter's embarrassment), but Yui, the pure soul, didn't notice a thing. She looked at Ritsu and Mio somewhat confused. "Well, what else would you do at a sleepover?"

Ritsu slammed her head on the table; Mio walked away for a minute. If only Yui knew what she was doing! But still, the innocent girl shrugged her shoulders and took another bite of her cookie, and in a moment seemed to forget she asked anything at all.

As the evening darkened and the snow picked up again, the girls decided it was time to end the night.

"Good night!" Ritsu waved behind her. Mugi was stepping into a limousine that came to pick her up, and Yui and Azusa were being welcomed to ride as well. They all waved back. Mio and Ritsu waited to watch the car drive away before they began walking towards their shared neighborhood. Again they held hands while the dark of the evening and the calm of the quiet winter night settled in their bones comfortably. Neither spoke - what had to be said that they didn't say already that day? There was no need to kill the mood with unnecessary words.

At Mio's door the two girls stood facing each other, not knowing quite how to end the day. Taking matters into her own hands Ritsu gave the bassist a small, cute kiss. When they separated, white clouds floated up from their mouths into the cold air.

"Sweet dreams, Ricchan."

"Good night, Mio." The bassist's door closed slowly and for a moment more the drummer stood before it, as if she could still feel the kiss even though it was over.

Ritsu pumped a fist into the air in victory while she walked home. It was all she could do to keep from just yelling out a "yay!" into the cold night air. Her heart was full, her headache was gone, and all was right in the world as far as she was concerned.

When Ritsu returned home, she went right to bed; it had been a long day, and the long day came after an even longer night. She didn't even get undressed as she fell onto her mattress. The pillow she rested on still smelled of Mio's sweet shampoo. _"Sweet dreams"_ , Mio had wished her. But what did Ritsu need of sweet dreams? Mio loved her, and that was all the drummer thought of as she drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Reviews, criticisms, and responses are all welcome!**


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